Ball D'Arc proves best in Gigginstown-dominated Naas feature

Ball D'Arc came out on top as four Gigginstown House Stud-owned horses battled it out for the Naas Directors Plate Novice Chase.Five runners were declared for the Grade Three contest, but the withdrawal of Oscar Knight, who is owned JP McManus, reduced that number by one and each of the remaining runners carried the familiar maroon and white colours of Michael O'Leary's operation.Gordon Elliott's Ball D'Arc was a 2-1 joint-favourite in the hands of Gigginstown's retained rider Bryan Cooper and quickened up well in the straight to score by 15 lengths from fellow 'jolly' Gangster, trained by Henry de Bromhead.Elliott's Prince Of Scars was a distant third, with the Mouse Morris-trained Alamein last of the four.Cooper said: "I was flat out from the word go to be fair. I got a life down over the third- and fourth-last."I knew Gangster would take me halfway up the straight so I'd sit and wait. He would have plenty of gears."Probably that dead and drying ground wouldn't be ideal for me. Gordon has done some job placing him and he'll be a nice one to look forward to in the spring campaign."Just on that ground he struggles to travel early on but he stays two-and-a-half."When asked if picking his mount was a difficult, the jockey added: "If you look at his form last year it was the same and he came alive at this time of year."He would have bolted up even if the horse hadn't fallen the last day at Navan."Gangster probably got flattered by his rating after being third to Yorkhill and Alamein won a terrible race."In my mind it was the right decision and hopefully I can keep getting them right for the rest of the week!"